New maps keep parishes together

Published: Friday, April 1, 2011 at 11:54 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 1, 2011 at 11:54 a.m.

BATON ROUGE — A House committee endorsed two maps Thursday that would keep Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes in the same congressional district.

One of the redistricting proposals, from Rep. Dee Richard of Thibodaux, was partly drafted by a Lafourche businessman and filed for the special session a few days ago.

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee and its Senate counterpart are leading the process of redrawing Louisiana’s congressional voting-district boundaries.

The process occurs every 10 years to adjust for population changes reflected in the latest U.S. Census. Louisiana’s population grew more slowly than most other states, so it will lose one of its seven congressional seats. That has triggered a heated battle over which areas will gain or lose voting strength and which incumbents will have to face each other in the 2012 congressional elections.

The House committee Thursday rejected legislation from Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, that would have tied the two parishes together in a new district running due north through Acadiana and into Rapides Parish. He referred to the district as the “sugar belt,” since 80 percent of Louisiana cane crop is located there.

After his House Bill 8 was disposed of, Harrison reminded lawmakers that it will be 10 years before they have the opportunity to redraw political lines again.

“You have to live with it for the next 10 years,” said Harrison, who had originally advocated for an all-coastal congressional district that keeps Terrebonne and Lafourche together.

That has been the main request of local residents, politicians and business groups throughout the process, an effort to give the area some clout in whatever congressional district it ends up in.

In the state Senate, lawmakers have thus far shown interest in bills that would split Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and create two north Louisiana congressional districts that would jog vertically from the Arkansas state line to the outer reaches of Acadiana.

Such a setup would pit Congressman Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, against Congressman Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, who represents the Houma-Thibodaux area in the 3rd Congressional District.

The dark-horse plan by Richard and Ben Harang of Donnes Real Estate, chairman-elect of the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce, also pits Boustany against Landry.

More jarring for local voters, however, might be the way the proposed district is outlined in House Bill 39. In short, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes would be moved into a district anchored largely by Baton Rouge.

That means Congressman Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, would be running for re-election down the bayou as well.

The new local congressional district would pick up Jefferson Parish before snaking north through Assumption and Iberville, winding into West and East Baton Rouge parishes.

Richard said the plan was developed completely without outside political influences and built using only population numbers and the requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“We are not drafting this with any advice from any congressman, any other elected officials,” Richard told his fellow committee members.

When the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee took up congressional proposals this week and last, members of Louisiana’s U.S. House delegation were frequent guests, most times advocating for two vertical north Louisiana districts.

And Senate President Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan, whose district includes Thibodaux, has made it clear that main goals of redistricting are to protect incumbents and satisfy federal requirements to provide sufficient minority representation.

Harang told the House committee his personal experience with the Senate process has been unpleasant and served as inspiration for the plan he co-authored with Richard.

“If you want to learn how not to run a committee meeting, go across the hall,” Harang said to a smattering of hearty laughter.

As proposed, the Richard-Harang map would include a 66 percent white population and a 27 percent African-American population in the area’s congressional district.

Drake Pothier, president of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, has been advocating a combined approach since the special session kicked off, at first handing out stickers displaying a “1” and most recently relying on his oratory skills.

“We have an easy ask,” he told the House committee Thursday. “We’re not trying to coordinate a bunch of parishes. We’re just trying to coordinate two.”

Speaking on behalf of several of the region’s business and industrial groups, Pothier explained the “symbiotic relationship” shared between Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, like the United Houma Nation tribe and the agreements between Nicholls State University and L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College. The House committee also adopted House Bill 6 by Rep. Erich E. Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, which was an early favorite of many lawmakers intimately involved with the ongoing negotiations.

It would keep Terrebonne and Lafourche together as well, only this time in a more easterly district through St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and as far north as St. Tammany. It’s essentially the same district now represented by Congressman Steve Scalise, R-Metairie.

Ponti’s bill likewise creates two north-south districts in north Louisiana, which are favored by Congressmen Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, and John fleming, R-Shreveport.

“I tried to include what I thought were interests in common,” said Ponti, another member of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee.

While Richard’s bill passed by a vote of 11-8, Ponti enjoyed a wider margin at 15-4.

In keeping with the trend of approving only bills authored by members of the committee, Rep. George Gregory Cromer, R-Slidell, saw his House Bill 43 pass by just a single vote.

It calls for vertical districts in north Louisiana and splits Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Terrebonne would be pulled into a western district that would stretch to the Texas line through Cameron and Calcasieu parishes. This new district would pit Boustany against Landry.

Lafourche, meanwhile, would be tugged north into a district anchored by the Baton Rouge region.

All three of the bills are expected to be debated on the House floor Monday. And every bill proposed so far could be tweaked before receiving final approval.

<p>BATON ROUGE — A House committee endorsed two maps Thursday that would keep Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes in the same congressional district.</p><p>One of the redistricting proposals, from Rep. Dee Richard of Thibodaux, was partly drafted by a Lafourche businessman and filed for the special session a few days ago.</p><p>The House and Governmental Affairs Committee and its Senate counterpart are leading the process of redrawing Louisiana's congressional voting-district boundaries.</p><p>The process occurs every 10 years to adjust for population changes reflected in the latest U.S. Census. Louisiana's population grew more slowly than most other states, so it will lose one of its seven congressional seats. That has triggered a heated battle over which areas will gain or lose voting strength and which incumbents will have to face each other in the 2012 congressional elections.</p><p>The House committee Thursday rejected legislation from Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, that would have tied the two parishes together in a new district running due north through Acadiana and into Rapides Parish. He referred to the district as the “sugar belt,” since 80 percent of Louisiana cane crop is located there.</p><p>After his House Bill 8 was disposed of, Harrison reminded lawmakers that it will be 10 years before they have the opportunity to redraw political lines again. </p><p>“You have to live with it for the next 10 years,” said Harrison, who had originally advocated for an all-coastal congressional district that keeps Terrebonne and Lafourche together.</p><p>That has been the main request of local residents, politicians and business groups throughout the process, an effort to give the area some clout in whatever congressional district it ends up in.</p><p>In the state Senate, lawmakers have thus far shown interest in bills that would split Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and create two north Louisiana congressional districts that would jog vertically from the Arkansas state line to the outer reaches of Acadiana.</p><p>Such a setup would pit Congressman Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, against Congressman Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, who represents the Houma-Thibodaux area in the 3rd Congressional District. </p><p>The dark-horse plan by Richard and Ben Harang of Donnes Real Estate, chairman-elect of the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce, also pits Boustany against Landry.</p><p>More jarring for local voters, however, might be the way the proposed district is outlined in House Bill 39. In short, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes would be moved into a district anchored largely by Baton Rouge. </p><p>That means Congressman Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, would be running for re-election down the bayou as well. </p><p>The new local congressional district would pick up Jefferson Parish before snaking north through Assumption and Iberville, winding into West and East Baton Rouge parishes. </p><p>Richard said the plan was developed completely without outside political influences and built using only population numbers and the requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice. </p><p>“We are not drafting this with any advice from any congressman, any other elected officials,” Richard told his fellow committee members. </p><p>When the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee took up congressional proposals this week and last, members of Louisiana's U.S. House delegation were frequent guests, most times advocating for two vertical north Louisiana districts.</p><p>And Senate President Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan, whose district includes Thibodaux, has made it clear that main goals of redistricting are to protect incumbents and satisfy federal requirements to provide sufficient minority representation.</p><p>Harang told the House committee his personal experience with the Senate process has been unpleasant and served as inspiration for the plan he co-authored with Richard. </p><p>“If you want to learn how not to run a committee meeting, go across the hall,” Harang said to a smattering of hearty laughter. </p><p>As proposed, the Richard-Harang map would include a 66 percent white population and a 27 percent African-American population in the area's congressional district.</p><p>Drake Pothier, president of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, has been advocating a combined approach since the special session kicked off, at first handing out stickers displaying a “1” and most recently relying on his oratory skills.</p><p>“We have an easy ask,” he told the House committee Thursday. “We're not trying to coordinate a bunch of parishes. We're just trying to coordinate two.”</p><p>Speaking on behalf of several of the region's business and industrial groups, Pothier explained the “symbiotic relationship” shared between Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, like the United Houma Nation tribe and the agreements between Nicholls State University and L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College. The House committee also adopted House Bill 6 by Rep. Erich E. Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, which was an early favorite of many lawmakers intimately involved with the ongoing negotiations. </p><p>It would keep Terrebonne and Lafourche together as well, only this time in a more easterly district through St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and as far north as St. Tammany. It's essentially the same district now represented by Congressman Steve Scalise, R-Metairie.</p><p>Ponti's bill likewise creates two north-south districts in north Louisiana, which are favored by Congressmen Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, and John fleming, R-Shreveport. </p><p>“I tried to include what I thought were interests in common,” said Ponti, another member of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee.</p><p>While Richard's bill passed by a vote of 11-8, Ponti enjoyed a wider margin at 15-4. </p><p>In keeping with the trend of approving only bills authored by members of the committee, Rep. George Gregory Cromer, R-Slidell, saw his House Bill 43 pass by just a single vote. </p><p>It calls for vertical districts in north Louisiana and splits Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. </p><p>Terrebonne would be pulled into a western district that would stretch to the Texas line through Cameron and Calcasieu parishes. This new district would pit Boustany against Landry. </p><p>Lafourche, meanwhile, would be tugged north into a district anchored by the Baton Rouge region. </p><p>All three of the bills are expected to be debated on the House floor Monday. And every bill proposed so far could be tweaked before receiving final approval.</p><p>Jeremy Alford can be reached at jeremy@jeremyalford.com.</p>